Volume 7: A World with Bad Consequences Chapter 454 The Secret of Severus and Riddle
In the barren mountains of northernmost Norway, even in June, the temperature here basically always remains below ten degrees. The only living creatures that can be seen above the woods are the crested goshawks gliding in the sky.
Jon once followed Grindelwald to the dilapidated Ramo Hans Monastery, where Grindelwald, wearing a black windbreaker, was watching Eric get the potion from Snape.
"Have you verified it?"
Eric's eyes sparkled with excitement when he heard Grindelwald's question.
"Yes, sir. I have verified some of the experiments. The 'dry wood' in their bodies was indeed ignited. Severus Snape is undoubtedly a genius in potion research. I am now a little curious about what potions he has been brewing for Voldemort."
Grindelwald said coldly.
"We don't need to worry about the situation in the UK. We need the conflict there to help us attract other people's attention. The only thing I care about now is this bottle of medicine. The 'dry wood' can be ignited, but I want to know whether it can continue to burn as long as life is maintained, or whether it is a consumable. If it is the latter, then even if this bottle of medicine can help us, it will be limited."
Emil said, looking down.
"I am still observing this. The research samples are now in the Arctic, and no signs of disappearance have been found so far."
"Then let's continue to watch and wait for a year. If the situation still hasn't weakened after a year, we can conduct more severe experiments. That means we have taken a big step towards success, and only the final touch is left."
Grindelwald said this and threw the bottle of potion to Hans, who had been standing silently by the side.
"Based on this finished product, we will see if there is anything that can be improved in the prescription itself, and then expand the scope of the experiment, and strive to increase the yield rate as quickly as possible."
Hans took the potion steadily in his hand. He looked much thinner than when Jon saw him before, but his cloudy eyes were surprisingly bright. He looked at the potion in his hand as if he were looking at some rare treasure.
"Also, sir," Eric continued, "the American wizard named Matthew Graves followed me to England, but he probably didn't know that I had left there."
When Grindelwald heard the name Eric said, a sneer appeared on his face.
"Don't worry about him. Don't worry about the entire MACUSA. They are just a bunch of latecomers who don't know how to adapt. If they really like to jump up and down, then help them recall what they have experienced."
After saying this, he stood up from his chair and raised the wand in his hand.
"There will definitely be more violent unrest in Britain. Dumbledore will not give up such a good opportunity, especially after he gets what he wants. Take advantage of this time to prepare everything we need."
At this time, Hans finally took his infatuated eyes away from the bottle of potion. He looked at Grindelwald and asked hesitantly.
"Master, there are some things I don't know whether I should ask. If Dumbledore..."
"Then don't ask."
Grindelwald interrupted him, and the next moment, he disappeared in the monastery.
…
Jon and Lily returned to France that same day.
Snape's death meant that their mission was completely over.
After returning to Lyon, Lily handed over the matter of reporting to Dumbledore to John. By now, she was certainly clear about some things.
Snape's escape from France must have been due to Dumbledore.
However, she did not ask what kind of shady deal there was between John and Snape. She was not interested in how to do it.
When Jon returned to the temporary Hogwarts school in Lyon, he naturally saw the gallows that had not yet been dismantled.
It looks like it will not be demolished in the future, but will instead be used as a symbol.
Even if Dumbledore returns to England with the students of Hogwarts in the future, the French Ministry of Magic will preserve the gallows where the first public trial in the wizarding world was carried out as one of the symbols of the war for future generations to admire.
Of course, John could only feel regretful about this. He actually wanted to participate in the public trial which he thought was very meaningful, but because of Snape's incident in the middle of the trial, he was forced to leave the UK during this period.
However, this public trial of students within Hogwarts will certainly not be the last one. It is just a foreplay for the subsequent large-scale public trial of the entire French wizarding community. Afterwards, John will naturally have the opportunity to witness a trial that attracts more attention.
After arriving at Dumbledore's office, John sat down directly opposite Dumbledore, picked up the teapot, poured himself a cup of black tea and drank it in one gulp.
The portraits of former principals on the wall all seemed to be familiar to him, and they greeted him warmly one by one.
Fox, who had been perched on the golden branch, spread his wings and glided to Jon's shoulder when he saw him, and rubbed his face affectionately with his sharp beak.
The headmaster's office was obviously richer in some things than before, such as the tattered hat placed alone on a wooden shelf, and a black gem ring kept in a cabinet. Also placed together with the ring was an elderberry wand that belonged to Dumbledore but he rarely used it.
Dumbledore still had that gentle smile on his face, and he looked at Jon and sat down so skillfully as if he had returned to his office.
"You're always so reassuring, Jon."
Jon simply shrugged at the compliment.
"Is this also the reason why you let me keep spinning like a top? Professor, this is not a picnic. None of the people I met are easy to deal with."
"Because you always want to do too much. In fact, if you just follow what I said from the beginning and don't worry about anything, the ending will be the same."
Jon did not comment. He took out the bottle of golden gravel that Snape gave him before he went to find Lily to die, and placed it in front of Dumbledore.
"Perhaps what you said is indeed right. This is what Snape asked me to give you. He got it from his former master. It's not the one who is going crazy in England now. It looks more like the one I drove away from the castle before."
Dumbledore did not immediately reach for the bottle of gravel; he just spoke softly.
"In fact, Severus had already chosen his own ending from the very beginning. I told you before that when he came to me to beg me to save Lily more than ten years ago and said that he had also used Harry Potter's life in exchange and begged Voldemort for this, I looked down on him. It is a compassionate heart that a human being should have to have compassion for new life. At that time, I thought he was a man without love. Even for Lily, he just wanted to satisfy his own selfish desires and wanted to get her by force. But it was on that day that I asked him what he was willing to give for Lily, and when he answered me everything, I really understood what kind of person he was."
Dumbledore looked at Jon and said with emotion in his voice.
"He is selfish and not a good person, but it cannot be denied that there are very few people who can love to the same extent as him, right?"
"You knew he was going to die?"
Dumbledore did not answer this question directly. He just looked at Jon and asked back.
"Do you think it was possible ?"
The answer is of course obvious.
Given the crimes Snape had committed, even if he had been tried in public, his final outcome would have been hanging on the gallows.
"Of course he knew that himself," said Dumbledore, "so he made one final deal with me, one that we both trusted each other to accomplish even without any constraints."
Jon turned his gaze to the bottle of golden grit.
"So, he wanted Professor Potter's safety, and the price he paid was to get this bottle for you?"
Seeing that John was very curious about the bottle of gravel, Dumbledore clasped his fingers together and placed them on the desk, as if he was ready to have a serious talk with John.
"Actually, are you curious about one thing, Jon? I talked to you about this in your first year. There were only two things that Tom Riddle desired most. One was supreme power, and the other was true immortality. With his strength, power was of course easy to obtain, but for immortality he chose to use Horcruxes. But later he apparently discovered the drawbacks of this approach, so he began to reclaim his split souls. We have always suspected that the rational Voldemort might have been created in this process."
"But this raises . Since he gave up using the Horcrux to gain immortality and chose to maintain his sanity in order to better exercise his power, what does he rely on to freeze his own time now?"
This question obviously made Jon stunned.
If Dumbledore hadn't asked him this, he really wouldn't have thought about this question in detail.
Voldemort was undoubtedly afraid of death, otherwise he would not have created seven Horcruxes in succession in the original book, as if he wanted to provide absolute guarantee .
The decision to choose eternal life was not something he made on a whim when he was crazy, but something he was determined to accomplish when he was rational and still young.
Now that he has taken back the soul in the Horcrux, the immortality that the Horcrux brought him naturally no longer exists.
So how does he manage to stay young all the time?
Jon had seen Voldemort many times, and he was sure that Voldemort's appearance was obviously frozen in his youth, but he was now 70 years old. In the magic world, it was not difficult for wizards to live for more than 200 years without any means, but their appearance would not change.
He definitely didn't use the Philosopher's Stone, because the stone only fell into his hands three years ago, and his method of freezing his age was obviously not a recent one.
Does this mean that while Voldemort is recovering his Horcruxes, he also has another means of maintaining his immortality?
Jon now turned his attention back to the bottle of golden grit.
"I have always suspected that it is possible that after Riddle found all the Horcruxes again, he made himself into a Horcrux, so there are two of them competing for one body at the same time."
Dumbledore said calmly.
"But this speculation was denied by Severus after he was brought back. He told me clearly that Riddle is still maintaining his immortality in a very obscure way, just like the Horcruxes in the past. He has not revealed it to anyone, but there are some things that need to be accomplished by outsiders. Severus Snape, the person he has high hopes for and who brought him the prophecy about the savior, has become the object of his trust."
"But we all know that Riddle's trust is never absolute. The only person he can truly trust completely is himself, not even his other self. So the trust he maintains in Severus is limited to the part he is willing to reveal. Severus told me that Riddle often went in and out of the Department of Mysteries for a period of time, not long after he killed the Potters and disappeared for a month, and then came back to occupy the British Ministry of Magic."
"Department of Mysteries?" Jon repeated the department.
"Yes, there are many magics in this world that are not created by wizards, and the Department of Mysteries is a place that specializes in studying certain mysterious and powerful magics that are not controlled by wizards."
Dumbledore picked up the bottle of golden grit.
"Severus said that no one knew what Riddle was researching in there during that time. He drove away all the Unspeakables working in the Department of Mysteries, leaving only himself. Then two weeks later, he had Severus called over, and then he took out this kind of sand that looked like it was extracted from an hourglass, and asked Severus to use this sand as the core to make a potion to catalyze its effect."
"Riddle's limited trust was reflected here. He did not tell Severus what the gravel in the bottle was used for. He just said that he needed a bottle of catalyst. This was not an easy task, especially when he did not know the specific effect of the catalytic substance he needed. But Severus still used his talent and finally met Riddle's requirements."
"That's why he has always been so highly regarded. These golden sands and the catalyst he developed have always been a secret kept between Severus and Riddle. Even Voldemort, who is now controlling Britain, doesn't know this secret."
